Patience was the greatest virtue a user of the system could have. The parameters given to us upon activation increased over time, and some of them increased our lifespans. Constitution, vitality, and qi are three examples of parameters that increased lifespan. Of the three, vitality is the only one that does so purposefully. Constitution simply makes the body resistant to aging, and qi transforms the body into something that makes aging inconsequential.

Vitality is lifeforce; it is a transitory parameter that is continuously increasing and decreasing. A user of vitality often possesses many powerful techniques that feed off of their lifespan as fuel. Because they feed off of their user’s lifespan, they are mighty. To a human user, that kind of power is addictive. I pity those who chose vitality; for them, death is always around the corner, no matter how far away it seems.

Vitality allows the user to measure their estimated lifespan.

Early in the system, I didn’t know how that would affect users. We all chose differently, and no two users had the same skills. All parameters have their strengths and weaknesses. But the greatest atrocities I’ve witnessed were at the hands of vitality users. All of them eventually figure out that there is an easier way to use their skills.

…

The stars weren’t right. It wasn’t surprising that an alien world would have different stars, but I stared it in the face when I looked up. My world was possibly hundreds of millions of lightyears away; PS4 and fleshlight chan were alone. How long would it be until some raccoon crawled up from a vent to piss on PS4 chan? What about fleshlight chan she didn’t judge and only comforted me when I needed her most? The thought of some animal chewing her into bits pissed me off.

I grabbed at my collar and felt a horrible shock. My vision tinted from red to yellow in a heartbeat. Still, I held onto the collar. Time and experience had changed me already. A shock that would have been debilitating days ago was only painful. I kept a hand on my collar to keep the shock up. This was what I needed.

After being a coward for the last few days, I decided to power level. Although, of course, power leveling meant being electrocuted to increase my pain resistance, it sounded retarded.

That’s because I didn’t have a choice. Eventually, I’d need to escape whether I figured out a way to get the collar off or not. While it had the power to kill me with a shock now, if I continued to grind away at shock resistance, that may not always be the case. Also, I wanted more parameter points; with my title equipped, this was my best shot.

While the collar shocked me, I stared out into the darkness spotting massive owls with black metal wings, walked over a bed of sharpened rocks, and backflipped. My master plan was full proof; it even doubled up on my constitution and perception training.

The more I focused on the training, the less I noticed the shock.

Ding!

6th Quest

Complete 1000 backflips Before Dawn

Stipulations: Maintain hold on collar and remain in the designated training area.

Reward: 1 Bronze PARAM Die

Failure: -5AGL

I opened my mouth and closed it. This game had it out for me. A white circle appeared in my tinted vision encompassing only the spiky stones.

My body started shaking uncontrollably when I saw a timer count down at the edge of my vision. If I didn’t do this, I’d lose nearly half of one of my parameters.

“This is completely unfair,” I yelled. As if in answer, the system emboldened the timer and set it at the edge of my vision. “Fine, but I’m doing it because I wanted to and not because you’re making me.” The timer continued to tick down, ignoring me.

Ding!

6hrs 30min to go.

With no real choice in the matter, I started backflipping like a madman. If I didn’t, then I wouldn’t get any sleep. After the hundredth backflip, my muscles burned, and I still hadn’t gotten any parameter points. At first, the sharp rocks hadn’t bothered me, but they started to dig into my feet with repeated motion.

Ding!

100/1000

6hrs 10min to go

“Fuck you,” I yelled and continued to flip as if my life depended on it. All the while, the clock counted down; when it hit 0, I’d lose half one of my precious AGL parameter points. Sweat poured down my face, my feet hurt, and the muscles in my back stiffened. What little flexibility I had didn’t last. Time continued to tick away, and I could feel my energy dropping even as the shock refilled it.

Ding!

250/1000

5hrs 30min to go

It wasn’t just my physical exhaustion; it was mental as well. Even as my energy refilled, my lack of sleep hurt me. Sleep rested the mind and prepared the body for a new day. I’ve been getting maybe two hours a night at best. Even if my body could keep up, my mind wasn’t able to get with the program.

A rock caught my foot the wrong way, and I slipped. I crashed hard against the rocks and froze there as time counted down. The sharp rocks felt almost comfortable to me and my feet throbbed from their sudden freedom.

Ding!

300/1000

4hrs 15min to go

I shot up, I’d blinked, and suddenly an hour vanished. After returning to my former position, I returned to my backflips. The time I’d rested had done my body a lot of good. When before my back throbbed, I managed to repeatedly backflip faster than I had before.

Ding!

600/1000

3hrs 30min to go

This wasn’t impossible. I continued to backflip in my own strange yellow-tinted world. Shocks that would generally be debilitating only energized me more as I continued to backflip. My rest had lasted for a single hour but had nearly completely revitalized my mind.

Ding!

900/1000

1hr 30min to go

Even after my second wind, 1000 was a massive number. My feet were sore and beat up, my back ached, and all I wanted to do was sleep.

Ding!

6th Quest Completed

Complete 1000 backflips Before Dawn

Stipulations: Maintain hold on collar and remain in the designated training area.

Rewarded: 1 Bronze PARAM Die

Ding!

DEX +2

DEX 5

Ding!

PER +2

PER 12

Ding!

AGL +3

AGL14

Ding!

CON +3

CON10

Ding!

Shock Resistance lvl19

Rank: D

Type: CON

Description: The user’s very body becomes resistant to harmful electrical attacks.

ATL (Acts to Level): Withstand electrical attacks to increase this skill’s level.

Abilities

Redirect: Transfer 10% of shock damage away from vital organs. Static Absorption – 5% of shock damage is converted into energy. Battery – Redirected shock damage is stored in the Dantian and converted into qi. Fast Charge – +10% of shock damage is converted into energy.

Ding!

Shock Resistance has reached lvl15

CON +3

CON 13

Ding!

Pain Resistance lvl20

Rank: D

Type: PER

Description: A skill defined by the user’s ability to accept pain.

ATL (Acts to Level): Withstand significant amounts of pain, formulate thoughts, complete complex action, or completely ignore the pain.

Abilities

Prism Status – Pain comes in many varieties, and now your vision will be tented while in pain. The longer you feel pain and the more severe the further down the rainbow, the user’s vision will change from red to violet. Malevolence – Pain causes negative thoughts to take root and slowly turns the user into an edgier person. -20% Pain when focusing on dark thoughts. Prism Trail – The source of your pain can be tracked by the shifting color tint. Tested Will – While pain isn’t muted, your will is strong enough to withstand it. +20% stun resist. Prism Rush – The further down the rainbow, the greater your strength. +5% STR increase per tint of the rainbow. Red to Violet. Max 35%

Ding!

Pain Resistance has reached lvl15

PER +3

PER 15

Ding!

Pain Resistance has reached lvl20

PER +4

PER 19

Ding!

New Skill

Acrobatics lvl20

Rank: E

Type: AGL

Description – A skill that is defined by jumping, tumbling, and flipping.

ATL – Perform jumps, survive incredible falls, and flip over enemies.

Abilities

Beginner Tumbler – Decrease fall damage by 5% Beginner bounder – Increase jumping height by 5%

Ding!

Acrobatics has reached lvl10

AGL +1

AGL 15

Ding!

Acrobatics has reached lvl20

AGL +2

AGL 17

I froze as my body began shaking. The stars blurred as if I were entering hyperspace in Star Wars. My legs suddenly felt like jelly, and I fell over and flopped like a fish. An itchy sensation erupted over my skin like the sudden explosion of hundreds of volcanoes. Sounds heightened in their complexity and frequencies until the world became on a loud roar of the wind, animal screeches, and my own slow heartbeat. The pain from my shock collar should have increased but remained duller. No, I was wrong; it ceased to exist. The tint fell from yellow to orange, red, and the world returned to its actual color. Even the sand beating against my skin felt merely unpleasant.

My body could feel the sensation in depths my human mind could barely comprehend. It wasn’t painful to me anymore. Every grain of sand had its own feeling, almost like I could make out their entire shape with a touch. I hadn’t divorced myself from sensation, and I doubt I would ever free myself from pain. I’d become tough enough to ignore the shock collar completely at its current level through this single training exercise.

When my body adjusted as the sun began its rise. Colors of orange flames and fading yellows lit the adobe of the distant mesas. Shades of pinks flew through the clouds, and I watched the display with new eyes. My new eyes could pick out a falcon catching the first warm updraft of the day through the clouds. From miles away, I could count its tail feathers as the updraft caught it. Even as it ascended the updraft, my vision didn’t lose its form entirely for some time. I smelled water, and with some practice, I could probably find a nearby stream. When the morning air touched my skin and washed away the night’s cold, it filled me was a sensation of joy. Seeing the sunrise had revitalized me and the warm morning wind ran my cup over.

On the wind, my new ultra-sensitive nose picked up the smell of smoke. My eyes widened as I sensed a death rattle. That was the only way I could think to describe it. It was a sensation like being dunked under a cooler filled with ice water. Even under the warmth of the sun, I was left spluttering and freezing as I felt the cries of thousands reach me like the missed texts from an angry girlfriend.

Somewhere in the direction Kale and I were heading, a lot of people died horribly. At the time, I didn’t know how and couldn’t have known. I was lost in another world and struggling to figure out the system. A week into this world, I’d been left behind by the professional gamers in this world. It would take some time to catch up to them.

Kale stepped out of her tent as she always did in the early mornings. She looked me over, then snorted. “Don’t take your eyes off of me. We’re not in lion territory anymore, but they are known to cast out their males this way.”

“Mistress, what’s in that direction?” I asked.

“It’s a border town called Flank. I lost my luggage back in A2. She waved a hand over herself. Why else do you think I’m wearing a bra and nothing else? I even lost my delicate dryad silk panties. Do you have any idea how much those cost?” Kale said.

I shook my head. “Can you smell the smoke? There was a fire in that direction. That’s why I asked.” I said.

Kale opened her mouth and closed. She sniffed the air in great heaves, nearly forcing her tits out of her leather bra. Not that I’d complain, but this was serious.

I snapped my fingers and remembered I was supposed to text Blue Star. But, of course, that was something I’d have to do soon if I didn’t get another ridiculous quest like last time. But then again, I could probably handle it much easier now.

“I smell it just barely. You have a good nose; maybe buying you for 5 coppers was a steal.” Kale smiled. “Flank has a great fire team, so I doubt it's too big of a deal.” She reached into her pack and pulled out a two-foot wand with a glowing crystal at its tip. The second she pulled it out, the wand sparked with lightning. “There is also the chance they were attacked by bandits. If they were overrun then, let’s not think about that.” Kale said.

I nodded. “Don’t worry, I have your back.” She looked at me and nodded slowly.

Ding!

+1RP with Kale

Kale 15/100 Kale sees you as a somewhat reliable slave.

“For a one-armed slave, your words are strangely comforting,” Kale muttered before galloping forward.

The shock didn’t even me while I finished packing the tent. I was able to gain ground on Kale, but she seemed perfectly capable of outrunning me still. Even when I activated sprint and with my traveler title, she was faster. That was something I didn’t expect.

I didn’t expect to meet someone I knew when we reached Flank town.